Westgate mall attack suspects on trial in Nairobi

4 men accused of 'terrorist act', sheltering mall gunmen

Somali men Mohamed Ahmed Abdi, Liban Abdullah Omar, Adan Mohamed Ibrahim and Hussein Hassan appear at the High Court for bail application in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in November 2013. The four men appeared in court Wednesday for the start of their trial. REUTERS/Noor Khamis (Noor Khamis/Reuters)

Four men charged with helping alQaeda-linked militants launch a murderous attack on a Kenyan shopping mall appeared in court on Wednesday at the start of their trial.

Mohamed Ahmed Abdi, Liban Abdullah Omar, Hussein Hassan and Adan Mohamed Ibrahim are accused of giving support and shelter to gunmen who killed at least 67 people during the assault on Nairobi's Westgate complex that started on Sept. 21.

Prosecutors say the four committed a "terrorist act" under Kenya's anti-terrorism laws and used false documents. The men deny all the charges.

Westgate guard Stephen Juma told the court he saw three gunmen jump out of white car that pulled up outside the mall. One, he said, immediately shot dead a shopper.

"I couldn't recognize them since they had covered their heads and faces with black headscarves," said Juma, who had worked there for five years.

Kenyan police and Western experts who joined the investigation said four gunmen carried out the attack, which struck at the heart of east Africa's biggest economy. They say all the gunmen died in the attack.